The man has been under pressure since he left Real Madrid and joined Juventus. The dominance of Juventus in the Italian Serie A has gone and in the Champions League, they have not been able to fulfill their aspirations accordingly despite Cristiano Ronaldo on their side. And after the disappointing end to the 2020-21 campaign of the Champions League, more than the team as a whole, it was Cristiano Ronaldo, who took most of the bashings.
Despite having won the Serie A title twice since joining the Old Lady in 2018, some believe that Cristiano Ronaldo has failed to deliver what he was really signed for, which was to win the Champions League.
Former Juventus player Alessio Tacchinardi told TMW Radio that he expected an apology from Ronaldo after the loss to Porto.
“He [Cristiano Ronaldo] was rested in last weekend's game against Lazio, so what was he doing against Porto? Federico Chiesa went to talk on TV, but I would have expected Ronaldo to do so. He also has to apologize to the fans.”
Former Juve president Giovanni Cobolli Gigliwent further, saying the signing was a complete mistake on Juventus' part.
“Was purchasing Cristiano Ronaldo a mistake? Absolutely yes,” Cobolli declared in an interview with Radio Punto Nuovo.
“It's Juventus' business whether to sell Ronaldo or not, but he's costing about one million per goal.”
“I said this from day one, I have appreciation for the great champion that he is, but he is too expensive and needs too much conditioning.”
But it is the nature of Cristiano Ronaldo that whenever he comes back, he comes back with a bang.
In the match against Cagliari – Ronaldo responded with a perfect hat-trick in just 32 minutes.
He rose unmarked to meet Juan Cuadrado's corner to send a towering header beyond Alessio Cragno after just 10 minutes, before drawing a foul from the goalkeeper for a penalty which he converted 15 minutes later.
The third goal was vintage Ronaldo, collecting Federico Chiesa's pass just inside the area, shimmying away from a defender, and powering the ball into the top corner with his left foot to complete the 'perfect' hat-trick.
Ronaldo could have scored his fourth goal with virtually the last kick of the game, but Cragno did well to rush out and block.
The hat-trick was a fitting reply to the critics of Ronaldo.
Last evening he took his tally to 770 official career goals.
Pele scored 757 official goals in his career, but Ronaldo decided to add the 10 unofficial goals that he also scored for the Sao Paulo state team and Brazilian military team.
He didn’t celebrate his achievement until after the Cagliari game and he explained that he had wanted to surpass even the unofficial tally before speaking about his new record.
Ronaldo said on an Instagram post that he has much admiration for the King of Football just like many football fans around the world.
He then thanked everyone who helped him in the journey towards the goals that he has scored in his career so far.
Several past and present footballers reacted to the post and Pele himself also made a comment.
He said, “Thanks for the affection, Cristiano. As you said, history will never be erased, but it is a pleasure to see you overcome my record of goals in official matches. Keep making me smile!”
It was a nice gesture from two of the greatest footballers from different eras.
Football is a beautiful game and its people like Pele and Cristiano Ronaldo make it the game of the people.
Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 15/03/2021 32 minutes of Cristiano Ronaldo
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Faisal Caesar
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